According to the professor of Harvard Business School Francesca Gino, it pays to break the rules at work and life. The traits of rebel leadership provide a competitive edge. These are the traits that encourage leaders to fight against convention and train their minds in order to avoid the stereotypes.
Following are the few principles that have been identified by Francesca Gino in her new book Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life,
Exploring and identifying new ideas:
The rebel leaders focus more on exploration and identify new ideas and ways of doing things differently. This is a process that helps them a lot to deal with exploitation because it requires purpose, culture, mindset, and leadership.
Disagreement leads to better results:
For most people disagreement causes problems and makes it difficult for things to get done properly. But in the world of rebel leaders, it is okay to disagree. It is because they share what the really believe in instead of sharing something that others like to hear. They think that disagreement leads to better ideas and a better outcome.
Open conversations:
The most important principle on rebel leadership is to open up the conversation by asking questions instead of closing them. Rebel leaders keep on asking questions because it helps them to learn more and never hesitate to ask for things they do not know.
Sharing personal information:
For rebel leaders, it is most important to, be honest and for this purpose, they reveal themselves to others. Their self-disclosure makes them feel more real and confident. They encourage other people to be who they are and bring out their real self in work and life.
Learn again:
Usually, people think it is enough to know what the basics are and spend their entire life abiding by the rules. But the rebel leaders know the limits of their knowledge and never become a slave to the rules. Once they know what the basic rules are, they get ready to transcend them.
Finding freedom when there are restraints:
Some people find it extremely hard to work under pressure and when there are constraints to work on projects. But rebel leaders think opposite to it and find freedom even in constraints. If you give them something to do under pressure or build a project with a tight budget, you will see them coming up with greater outcomes.
They work themselves:
Rebel leaders do not just like to guide and monitor their employee. Instead, these are the people who get their own hands dirty by doing the same work they expect from an employee. This is the quality that sets them apart from normal leaders.
Rebel leaders accept their mistakes happily:
Rebel leaders are completely aware that innovation does not follow a process. Any mistakes happening during that process can be a breakthrough for something they have never expected. Rebel leaders always foster them and welcome all the ideas that flow from such a culture and mindset.